All on Earth and All in Heaven

Performance Notes:

• For performance notes on this song, see page 1080 of Psalms for All Seasons: A Complete Psalter for Worship.
• The following article is taken from the Psalter Hymnal Handbook.

Tune Information:

EBENEZER originally came from the second movement of an anthem ("Goleu yn y Glyn" or "Light in the Valley") by Welsh composer Thomas John Williams (b. Ynysmeudwy, Glamorganshire, Wales, 1869; d. Llanelly, Carmarthenshire, Wales, 1944). EBENEZER (meaning "stone of help" in the Bible) is named for the chapel in Rhos, Pontardawe, which Williams attended at the time he composed the tune. Although his primary vocation was in the insurance business, Williams studied with David Evans at Cardiff and later was organist and choirmaster at Zion Church (1903¬1913) and Calfaria Church (1913-1931), both in Llanelly. He composed a number of hymn tunes and a few anthems.

First published as a hymn tune in the Baptist Book of Praise (1901), EBENEZER is often associated in Wales with "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah" (543). Because an English folksinger claimed that the tune had been washed up on the Welsh coast in a bottle, the, tune is known in some hymnals as TON-Y-BOTL (tune in a bottle). In the United States, the tune gained popularity as a setting for the text "Once to Every Man and Nation."

Developed out of the opening motif, EBENEZER is a glorious tune built with just six notes and an energetic rhythmic pattern involving triplets. The tune is a rounded bar form (AABA) in which the "B" lines move momentarily into major.

In Welsh practice the triplet is sung heavily; do not worry about making the dotted rhythms distinct from the triplets. Use rhythmically energetic accompaniment with fairly full organ, adding a crowning mixture and/or reed for stanza 4. Try finishing the final stanza with a major chord.

Other Resources:

• Visit hymnary.org for more information on this song and additional resources.
• The following are alternative accompaniments for this tune, EBENEZER/TON-Y-BOTEL.

Alternative Harmonization for Organ and Descant Resources:

• Burkhardt, Michael  As Though the Whole Creation Cried  vol. 2. Morningstar MSM-10-606 [2009]
• Copes, V. Earle. Hymn Intonations Preludes & Free Harmonizations. Vol II Selah 160-722 [1991]
• Noble, T. Tertius. Free Organ Accompaniments to One Hundred Well-Known Hymn Tunes. J. Fischer 8175 [1946]
• Rawsthorne, Noel. More Last Verses. Kevin Mayhew [1996]
• Shaw, Geoffrey. The Descant Hymn Book bk 2. Novello
• Wyton, Alec. New Shoots from Old Roots. SMP KK 279 [1983]

Alternative Harmonization for Piano:

• Cherwien, David. Let It Rip! At the Piano. Augsburg 11-11045 [2000]